Land of the free, home of the beards?

The U.S. Armed Forces are moving in the right direction. According to news reports late last week, the Army will allow Menachem Stern—an orthodox Jewish Rabbi—to attend military chaplaincy training without shaving his religiously-mandated beard. Although significant barriers remain in place for religious minorities wishing to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, the Army’s acceptance of Rabbi Stern is a positive development.

And it is welcome news to the Sikh community. In April 2009, more than 60 years after President Harry Truman issued an executive order promising equal opportunity “for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin,” Sikh Americans challenged restrictive Army appearance regulations(adopted during the Reagan administration) that effectively prohibited turbaned, bearded Sikhs from serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

For Sikhs, this prohibition made no sense in light of the Sikh reputation for martial prowess. Over three centuries ago, in the face of persecution by Mogul and Afghan invaders, the founders of the Sikh religion encouraged their disciples to inculcate the qualities of saints and soldiers (sant-sipahi), including adherence to a code of discipline that requires adherents to wear a visible uniform consisting of a turban and uncut hair. Consistent with Sikh religious teachings, these articles are inseparable constituents of Sikh religious identity, signifying a commitment to upholding freedom, justice, and dignity for all people.

Generation after generation, inspired by their religious faith and martial heritage, Sikhs have served in the U.S. Army since World War I; sacrificed their lives by the thousands for the Allies during both World Wars; produced several Victoria Cross recipients in the British Army, where they can still freely serve with distinction; and accepted the surrender of Pakistani forces on behalf of the Indian Army, which, until recently, was led by a Sikh general.

with thanks : washington post : link in headline above for detailed news report.

Losing the Turban: Indian Sikhs at odds on essentials

excerpts :

It's a trend that has alarmed the leadership of the world's 25-million-strong Sikh community and fueled debate on whether you can still be considered a good Sikh if you cut your hair.

Sikhs discuss the issue of vanishing turbans at a political party meeting in New Delhi.

That debate intensified with the release of a new movie called "I Am Singh," which looks at the hardships of Sikhs in America who were mistaken for terrorists after the September 11, 2001, attacks because of their turbans.

"We live for the turban. We die for the turban," say the lyrics of a song in the movie.

Manjit Singh, the local president of the Sikh nationalist political party Shiromani Akali Dal, says he hopes the movie will help revive Sikh pride.

with thanks : cnn : link in headline above for detailed report with pics.

Comments awaited.

Video: CAIR Seeks Hate Crime Probe of Attack on Sikh in Calif.

with thanks : youtube

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Sikh intellectuals seek criterion for Panth Rattan

AMRITSAR: While jathedar of Akal Takht Giani Gurbachan Singh is going to bestow title of Panth Rattan Fakhar-e-Quom to chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday, there is a demand from Sikh intelligentsia to lay down guidelines for giving such awards.

"There is no tradition of conferring such titles from Akal Takht, nor it is an annual feature and if such titles are to be conferred, Sikh high priests should lay down norms," said Balwant Singh Dhillon, professor at Guru Nanak studies department at Guru Nanak Dev University.

While justifying the title for Badal on the basis of his political services, he said high priests should also acknowledge the work of other Sikhs.

with thanks : Times of India : link in headline above for detailed news.

Our CEO Sd. B S Vohra on NDTV : लोकपाल पर महाबहस :

Muqabla: देशभर में लोकपाल के कई मसलों पर लगातार बहस छिड़ी हुई है... एक जायजा इस बार के मुकाबला में। Mr B S Vohra asked two questions. Please view the complete video at the link below :

http://khabar.ndtv.com/PlayVideo.aspx?id=217599
Read more at: http://khabar.ndtv.com/PlayVideo.aspx?id=217599&cp


With thanks : NDTV

Sikh man stabbed waiting for plane at Fresno airport

A Sikh man in his mid-50s was stabbed near the security area at Fresno Yosemite International Airport on Sunday evening, Fresno Police said.

The man was waiting in a public area near the Transportation Security Administration terminal around 5:30 p.m. with his translator when the suspect, described as a 26-year-old white man, approached him, Fresno police Lt. Tom Rowe said. The victim thought he had been punched in the upper torso, but was actually stabbed, Rowe said.

The suspect ran from the airport but was arrested by airport police officers on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Rowe said. The victim was treated at the airport for non-life threatening injuries and declined to be taken to a hospital, instead opting to board his flight, Rowe said.

 With thanks : fresnobee : link in headline above for detailed news.


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I Am Singh : A Family’s Irreparable Loss for the Crime of Being Sikh

Once there were two eras, B.C. and A.D., says an aging, grieving Indian woman at the start of “I Am Singh,” sitting in a graveyard near ground zero in Manhattan. Now there is before and after Sept. 11. And with that, this drama commences its impassioned if melodramatic jeremiad against anti-Sikh sentiment in America. More than a plea for tolerance, it is an assertion of pride in Punjab, home to much of India’s Sikh population.

But neither Punjab nor New York is the principal setting. Ranveer Singh (Gulzar Chahal), in India, learns that one of his brothers has been killed, and another is missing, after an attack by skinheads in Los Angeles; his beaten father has been hospitalized. In California, Ranveer consults the police, only to face stonewalling and rebuke.

with thanks : movies.NYTIMES : link in headline above for detailed movie review.

Golden gate of history

The holy city of Amritsar (meaning pond of nectar), derived its name from the sarovar that surrounds the beautiful Golden Temple.

The town, which can undoubtedly be mistaken for a dusty small city by first-time visitors, is amongst the most popular pilgrim centres for Sikhs. Not only does it attract the local Indian travellers but it is certainly a part of the ‘places to visit’ list of foreign tourists also.

The sense of purity that one experiences inside the gurudwara premises is unforgettable. The magnificent Golden Temple and other gurudwaras situated in various corners of this small town gives it an apt name — Guru ki nagari.

This historic city was once known as Ramdaspur after the name of the fourth Sikh Guru who founded the city. In 1947, after the Partition, the state of Punjab was one of the worst hit areas and was divided into parts out of which few went to Pakistan and the rest remained with India making Amritsar a border city.

Amritsar is a mix of old heritage and recently developed township areas. As soon as the name of the city comes into one’s mind, what people are reminded of is the world heritage site of Harminder Sahib. The clean water, the pure surroundings and the beautiful carvings on the top of the main hall are most attractive features of the gurudwara.

with thanks : asianage : link in the headline above for detailed news.

Sikhs being targeted deliberately in Italy-Harsimrat

CHANDIGARH: Member Parliament from Bathinda ,Harsimrat Kaur Badal said on Thursday that Sikhs were being deliberately targeted in the airports of Italy repeatedly and Government of India owes an explanation to the country for its complete failure to safeguard the interests of Sikhs despite various hollow assurances.

Registering a strong protest in a communiqué to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Harsimrat said that she on behalf of entire Sikh community was lodging a protest over intolerable way Sikhs are treated at airports in Italy and other countries of the world. She also moved adjournment motion over recent incident of forcible removal of turban of Commander of Jet Airways at Milan airport thereby hurting the sentiments of Sikh community and government’s utter failure to ensure dignity of Sikhs. 

 

Pointing to the total failure of Congress led UPA government in pressurizing Italy government, she referred to the latest incident that happened with Ravijodh Singh Dhupia, a commander of Jet Airways, who was forced to remove his turban at Milan Airport. She said that it was intolerable and unfortunate that the officials deployed on international airports harass Sikhs again and again by removing their turbans under security check excuses. She said that repeated incidents in the Italy have proved that the Union Government has failed to convey to the Italian Government and other foreign governments not to remove the turbans of Sikhs. She said that to ask a Sikh to remove his turban was in fact an atrocity on him and all over the world Sikhs in one voice have stood up to call this an act of great violence and cruelty on Sikhs.

with thanks : PunjabNewsLine : link in headline above for detailed news.

Proud to be Sikh

As the film 'I Am Singh' releases today, some prominent Sikhs speak to DT about how 9/11 changed the world's perception towards them

A turban is the honour and pride of all Sikhs. It is very important for each Sikh and when, because of mistaken identity, they are asked to remove their pagdis, then everyone should unite to fight it. This film is to educate the West about the difference between the Arabs and Sikhs. Innocent people were targetted across the world after 9/11, because of mistaken identity,"- Ajit Pal Singh (former Indian ockey captain and winner of Hockey World Cup, 1975)

Sikhs are treated as the irrelevant minority. "I Am Singh" is a voice that echoes a sentiment of Sikhs across the world, who stand for universal brotherhood. The Sikhs are the survivors. They stand for truth and are martial. "Iss film ko dekhna mere liye mazhab hai, iss film ko support karna mera dharm hai" - Navjot Singh Siddhu (cricket and TV personality) .

with thanks : TIMES OF INDIA : link in headline above for detailed news.

 

Amitabh pleads innocence in 1984 anti-Sikh riots

Amritsar, Dec 1 (IANS) Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has pleaded his innocence in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in various parts of the country in which thousands of Sikhs were massacred, a top Sikh religious leader said.

In a letter to jathedar (chief) Gurcharan Singh of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion, Amitabh stated that he had no role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The letter was delivered to the Akal Takht head by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member from Mumbai, Gurinder Singh Bawa.

with thanks : thaindian : link in the headline above for detailed news.

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